Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Where did Lucy purchase her new vagina?

Ryan Call now has a promotional offer for No Colony issue 1. All you have to do is buy a copy and he'll send you a free copy of Robert Coover's Pricksongs and Descants, which is an incredible collection of imagist/surrealist and hyperlanguaged stories. I read a lot of it on a plane once and felt really sick, but glad about the sick.

I will follow that up by sending a copy of Gordon Lish's PERU to the person after the person who orders and fulfills Ryan's offer.

This is a strong and good way to promote something I think, and I feel very happy people are doing it, I encourage more give away deals from others, it would be nice to have people doing more.

Everyone can do more.

Here are some ways you can do more, outside of spending $$$.

(1) When you read something you like, in any form, write the author and tell them. You don't have to gush or take forever. Just tell them you saw it, you read it, you liked it. It's a supportive feeling. It's better than not saying anything.

(2) Write reviews of books you like. Short review/long review, whatever. It's not that hard. It takes a little work to think about it clearly, but what goes around comes around. You can't expect to be recognized for your work if you aren't recognizing others for their work. Open the doors.

(3) Interview writers. New writers or well known writers. You like somebody's work a lot? Ask to do an interview with them. It doesn't take a ton of effort. Write up some questions. Let them talk. Spread the word. Talk. Say. Get. Eat.

I have done this for years and have made friends by doing it, have 'opened doors' so to speak: in other words, by helping others, you are also helping yourself. If spreading others' work isn't enough in your mind, think of it as 'connections.' (I hope you don't have to think about it in this way to justify it because that is sad, but, well, some people...) Things often can/might happen as a result of these things, on both ends, even if they are just small things, small things add up, small things can be good things, haven't you read Carver, momentum.

Energy. Power cock.

(4) If you have free time, start an online journal. Start a blog, a review, an anything. If you don't know how I'll help you. Say stuff. Mean what you say.

(5) If you have a journal already, respond faster. Pay attention to your inbox. When someone asks a question that feels dumb or unnecessary maybe, answer it anyway. Don't be a fuck. Yeah, we're all busy. Yeah, things take time. Work to take less time. It's okay to move forward at a wicked pace. (And yes, as an editor, I too struggle to adhere to this advice, but I struggle at least, everyone struggles, but you can always struggle more. I am so tired of seeing journals with 200+ days response time, why do you even exist? Does it really take that long to like something? People should stop sending to these places. Seriously. Just stop sending.

Yeah I know the flood comes strong. Stand in the flood. (Me too.))

Seriously, Conjunctions/Ninth Letter/Subtropics: these 3 journals get just as much work coming in as anybody, and they all respond often in less than a month.

To everyone: Push the fucking envelope even harder than you do. Be an open node.

BE AN OPEN NODE.

I am amazed sometimes by people who want to be writers and yet seem to know little to nothing about even the more popular journals, who don't read that actively, who don't buy literary magazines hardly ever but send out their own work constantly, who don't buy even their friends work, who etc etc. Then they want to turn around and call anyone with any stripe of 'success' a 'secret handshake motherfucker' or 'in crowd' or anything like that.

There are people who don't even answer their emails when they get those 'I like your work' mails, which really blows my mind some. You're just typing into a keyboard like the rest of us. Don't be Richard Ford spitting on Colson Whitehead. Don't be a turd person.

Getting involved is being involved, and if you aren't actively promoting others, I don't know why in hell you'd think anyone would ever want to read or support you.

I didn't mean to get into ranting, I really didn't, I had no specific person in mind when I thought of all that, but I know there are tons of writers out there who don't do even a 100th of the amount of work spreading the word as they do trying to pimp their own stuff.

I am happy to know the people I do who do so much everyday.

And yet everyone (me included, I am above none of this, though I try) can do more, and if you want to BE more yourself, you SHOULD, even if its just something tiny like a mention of work you liked, or an email, or an idea, or looking, talking, thinking, shitting, causing trouble, laughing, responding.

"I am so tired of seeing journals with 200+ days response time, why do you even exist? Does it really take that long to like something? People should stop sending to these places. Seriously. Just stop sending."

I pretty much don't even bother with publications that I know take a longass time to respond. There are so many other places out there that do respond in a reasonable amount of time, thankfully.

kim, thank you, haha, yes the vagina kissing might be problematic, but i still encourage it

derek, zzzfish always seemed quick to me. you are def not on the poolist for that. i dont know avg times for full book presses, but i am sure you are quicker than those too. book presses i think get a little more slack anyway since it's a much bigger commitment than taking a story.

plus, oh, i dunno, you've been selling all your shit and leaving the country...

i imagine too, that i am completely talking out of my ass on this one. I have had quick responses from places with reputations for long delays. on the other hand i have had rejections that came back almost 15 months after the fact, or not at all.

i read submissions for 'epiphany magazine' a long time ago and one time i became annoyed that there was one submission left on my table and felt like i 'needed' to 'get rid of it immediately' and i ripped the envelope in half and threw it away, i think about 4 months after i put it on my table, i think that was really 'horrible' of me but i laughed a lot and it has entertained me a lot of times 'through the years,' i think i will always believe that it is funny

i have typed about that in other places, i will probably keep typing that 'anecdote' for 'the rest of my life'

i also haven't responded to any submissions to 3 a.m. magazine for about 8-10 months, but when i became the editor i think i said that i was just going to publish people i know and people who comment on my blog after i click their names and go to their blogs and find something they have posted that i like

i 'resigned' as an editor for 3 a.m. magazine but they didn't respond to my resignation yet, maybe i will be an editor for them 'forever'

i really like 3 a.m. magazine, they let me do whatever and interview whoever and write about things

i also really like 'the stranger,' they let me do whatever also and pay me within a week

i think 'the cincinnati review' responds pretty quickly for their size and 'prestige'

'noon' also responds quickly i think, when they rejected me a lot they responded pretty quickly i think

i think 'fence' is funny, i don't understand how a person can get into fence, they publish so many people in one issue but i don't think i can really remember ever receiving a response from them and i'm pretty sure i submitted to them at least five times

i have a file of all my submission things, i wonder if i still have it

tao, haha, i like the image of you tearing the last submission. i think there are submissions i let go too long and then feel bad and start to not see them somehow, sort of on purpose, i try not to let that happen any more.

sometimes it is hard to respond to people. esp rejections, it takes a lot out of you. sometimes i put it off even though i know i am going to reject, just because i feel i cant do it.

noon, yes, they are usually quicker than a month, they are on top of it. i have been rejected by them a lot. one time 'thanks' was written on the form rej. how many times did it take you to get accepted?

fence, i was really surprised at how quick i got an acceptance from them, it was kind of out of the blue, i think they work sporadically, i have heard of very long periods from them also.

when i first started with 3 a.m. i would write things on my to do list like 'reject 5 people' and i would do that, it would feel like i had done something and wasn't that hard, i'm not sure what happened that i stopped

i think noon rejected me 3-4 times, 'looking back' now i feel like i was submitting things they 'obviously' wouldn't publish sort of

i really enjoyed being rejected by one story, it was exciting checking the status on their online thing, i think they rejected every story i have written that is more than 3500 words

I read that "Basketball Is Not a Drug" story in Best of the Web 2008 last night, which I really enjoyed, and thought, "Hmm, Blackbird. I might send something their way sometime." Today I saw their average return rate of 243 days. Fuck that.

jereme: soon i am going to offer a real, palpable opporunity for those interested in putting together funds toward a press: look for it in the next month. after the n/c issue gets off to printer, i am going into 'serious mode'

In defense of long response times, for aesthetic and cohesive reasons, sometimes it's good to let subs accumulate to see how they mesh with others. A straight rejection though, there's no excuse for it. I also won't respond to people that express no knowledge of what they are submitting to or that are so far off base it doesn't warrant a response. You got to remember that mag editors do this for nothing in most cases.

Did we officially "accept" Ever, Blake? Could this be the first manuscript submission that was accepted in blog comments?

As long as I don't get eaten by hyenas or run out of money... consider it official. Speaking of Lucy, that was my biggest regret when we were in Ethiopia was not visiting her (though the one in the museum in Addis Ababa is a cast). I will avenge that regret soon enough.

Titular, as Barry says, is great. THey rejected me in an hour, but I call that better than an acceptance after a 3 month wait.

I read stories at Wigleaf and have been guilty in the past of not responding right away because it seems to me more respectful or something not to pass immediate judgement, not to just say no right away. But almost always I know right away if I want something-- and I think that's all right, because that's in line w/ readers' experience: if I accept something it takes me six reads to appreciate, and if readers are like me, how many of them will ever get to the sixth read?

dude. come on. it's david gordon green. and if you want to see me hanging out with him you can go to facebook. that was just after snow angels and before the pineapple express. he's the man. so is tim orr. and danny mcbride's his boy from ncsa.

fanboy. sycophant. call it what you will. i've been on the dgg train 4Evsky.

you hated george washington? what the christ? it's not gummo. i love gummo too. it's entirely different from gummo. if he rips of anyone it's malick. you should see it again. it's been an inspiration for me at least. insanely. triumphantly.

Blake,I just got back into town after taking a road trip yesterday morning down to Dallas (Arlington, actually) to see the Rangers play the Mariners last night. A terrific post and discussion. Noon has always been quick to respond to me. And Conjunctions, too. Like the Tao, I never got a responce from Fence. Who do you have to finger fuck to get into that journal?

i guarantee they get so much amazing shit that they can't publish because phil "well, that's a library book!" levine is too old and pissed and thinks everyone needs to suck his el dee-o-coh. hiooooooooooooooooooooooo.

i have to post a link to your link on my blog now, which i was going to do anyway.

nice post. i am commenting because i want to make barry cry as the comment count exceeds 100.

i agree with everything said, but that doesn't mean much, i'm like the weird guy that sits in the back of an advanced class on hydroelectric power (or something) and nods at everything the professor says but doesn't really know anybody or understand anything.

So, I've been checking back at the comments since this morning, and its obviously struck a cord with this culture/community of writers and artists. I think that's because what we write and create (probably for the most of us) isn't mass marketable. For me that's a good thing, the counter-culture in a sense. But, as a sub-culture, we still need unity because that's how things get done. And that's what all of this is about.

I just want to let everyone know that 1.) I'm intoxicated, and 2.) I've started a journal called ALL COLONY, that Blake Butler and Ken Baumann have submitted to, but have been banned from. In fact, it took us at AC 778 days to respond.

compliments are good. when a person receives a complimentary email, their self-esteem is boosted, they feel justified in what they are doing, and they are able to be more productive. i am going to send authors i like complimentary emails now.

Amen. I've sent notes to authors over the years when I've read something enjoyable. Authors are like rock stars to me, and there's a little rush when I get a response.

I have a radio show where I interview authors. It's a tiny show in rural Minnesota, but I aim high and have had someone turn me down only once. And believe me, I will always remember that arrogant jerk. See my blog for that rant.

But I've been so impressed when even big-name authors come on the show, even though the audience is probably only about four listeners. I'd love more! "The Weekly Reader" on KMSU-FM in Mankato, MN.

I was surprised to find a magazine that published me last year on the sloth list. I checked, and sure enough, it took them over 5 months to respond. We're so conditioned to long wait times we just take it! (Thank you, Sir, can I have another? Oh, sure I'll wait. I'll just stay bent over like this for half a year while I wait for you to decide what to do with me...or not.)

Special to Tao Lin: Like Blake said (maybe to you, He is God, right? Knows what you're going to say before you do?): Don't be a fuck. Or at least don't be a dumb fuck. If you're only going to publish people you know at magazines you edit, you might want to put that in the guidelines instead of bragging about it elsewhere.

I am intrigued by this entire environment. Everyone seems to know everyone else. That's very organic and a couple of other hippy sounding words. I encountered a sense of amazement today when I stumbled into all these vigorous authors. That sense lingers.

I've put the family to bed and here I am again, reading the banter back and forth, following links, consuming stories. I feel like the slow dumb kid in class, that doughy guy, you know, that wore corduroy and scribbled runes on his book covers.

The forums I joined a month or so ago when I picked up books and engaged words again all told me to pare shit down, cut it out, speak simply, and sentences don't work like that. I find it invigorating that there is a lively community where the english can perhaps romp a little bit.

Saw this entry mentioned in Brevity's blog. Right on, good sir. I love what you're saying. I've always wanted to e-mail writers I admired after I read something specifically affecting, but I always thought I would probably just piss them off for filling up their inboxes with praise. But fuck it: they wrote it, they have to deal with people liking it.

And thanks for that list you linked to. Lately, I've been trying to look outside the literary circle-jerk for some truly unappreciated writers. It's also self-serving: I'd like to begin to get published. Just graduated, working at a coffee shop, etc, etc. That sort of deal. Would be nice to have an e-mail in my inbox from someone who liked one of my stories.

Can't wait to read more of what you have to say, too. Much respect, Blake.

this is really great. just suggested reading this to someone on dennis cooper's blog. he was asking about whether he should go to an mfa program, and i said that of course such things offer you time to read and time to write -- and connections.

but this is the best description i've seen of how -- if you can't/don't want to, attend an mfa program, and even if you do, and want to reach out to others -- how young writers can get become part of a community, and make those vital connections. and i don't mean that in just an a cynical way. i don't think that reaching out to writers, interviewing them, blogging about them, saying hello, is all some cynical ploy for betterment -- it's a way to talk to people you love, who will inspire you, and, in the best case scenario, will, through their interactions with you, reorganize your brain, and help you to see you own writing in a new way.

blake, thanks for this post. i needed this post today. today sucks much, but this post made me believe in things again, which is a good thing to do, i think, to believe in things, and particularly things outside yourself. i feel like an asshole for thinking today sucks, because woah damn, there is a lot of fucking awesome in the world.